The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday approved a measure that gives institutional shareholders a vote on executive pay at large corporations, part of regulators' efforts to give investors greater say over top-level salaries that have been described as excessive.

In a clear win for the shareholders rights movement, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that it was changing federal proxy rules to make it easier for companies' shareholders to nominate and elect directors to their boards.

Two large institutional investors are none too happy about the $50 million Occidental Petroleum's CEO made last year, so Relational Investors and CalSTRS are launching a fight to take over four of 13 seats on the oil and gas company's board.